It’s hard to imagine how far we’ve come until you see pictures like this of the first disk drive to store more than 1GB (right). The IBM 3380 which stored 2.52GB and cost between $81,000 and $142,000, not to mention the size!  The image on the left is a 250MB drive from 1979. By way of comparison, you can now buy a 2 Terabyte drive for about $100.

To put it into perspective that’s roughly 1000x the storage for (best case) .0012 the price (i.e. just over 1/10th of 1% the price)! You now get about 1Million times more for your money!

Read more on the history of computer storage in pictures.

Asteroid Impact Courtesy NASA

I’m a big geek about a lot of things but astronomy has always been close to the top of the list. So while looking for an excuse to break out the telescope and see something new I decided to look up the Near Earth Object Program and see if there were any known objects that might be visible anytime soon.  What I found was NASA’a list of known objects with earth crossing orbits giving them an at least marginal chance of impacting us. From there the data geek kicked in and here is what I’ve found:

All numbers are approximate.

• There are 300 objects with a chance of hitting us (that we know about).
• There are 46 that could hit us in the next 10 years.
• Of those that might hit us between now and 2010 all are 0 (zero) on the Tornio Scale (the likelihood of “consequences” if an impact occurs, lower is better).
• The largest asteroid with a chance of impacting us is in 2014 (named 2008 VS4) and has a diameter of 1.2 kilometers and has a velocity of 14.05km/sec (31,428 miles per hour). Actual probability of this one hitting us is 1 in 384,615,000).

According to the Spaceguard Survey, in the case of 75% of the asteroids 1 km and larger, individual chances of dying in the event of an impact are about 1-in-720,000. About the same chance as dying from a fireworks accident or amusement park ride.

By way of comparison, the Tunguska incident in Siberia in 1908 the object was probably between 20-100 metres (65-325 feet) across and the Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona was caused by something about 30 meters in diameter. Then of course there is the famous dinosaur killing asteroid that was about 10,000 meters (10km) wide.

For now we’re pretty safe but new objects are being discovered all the time so keep your eyes on JPL and on the sky!

By the way, the  object most likely to hit us is 2006 JY26 with a 1 in 172 chance of causing a bad day starting sometime in 2073, but at a paltry .007 meters in diameter, I would’t sweat it.

Have a nice day!

Apparently Congressman Hank Johnson representing the 4th district of Georgia doesn’t watch the Discovery Channel or he’d know enough about basic geology to realize what a moronic statement this is. I realize we can all make stupid mistakes from time to time, like this one time when I was 14 and ..well.. no need to go there right now, we aren’t talking about me!,  but is anyone besides me just MORTIFIED that this man is a US Congressman? People, this is who votes on matters as important as health care. Someone voted for him, besides Congressman Hank Johnson. I wonder if in his campaign he promised not to capsize Georgia.

You have to watch this painful video to believe that he is actually serious. I feel bad for the 4th district of Georgia, and I grew up in Indiana when everyone prodded Dan Quayle for spelling potato(e) wrong. Seems mild, hell, even I can’t spell but I know that dropping off some Marines and their families won’t turn an island over.

I started this blog because I wanted a  creative outlet. Or perhaps more accurately because I wanted to have a place where I could just cut loose and not worry about a lot of crap, just sort of vomit online but enjoy it. I haven’t done much vomiting since then but I keep meaning to. I kept trying to decide what specifically I wanted to do (which is normally good for a blog) but I do that already on vsellis.com and other places I write for. So ScottIsMyName is going back to the vomit strategy. I know it sounds gross but I promise I’ll make it fun (for me). Here’s some of the things I think I’ll be writing about in between the random crap:

• Wine, just because.
• {insert random crap}
• Opera, only not in the usual bland beatnick analysis but more accessible and with some foul language, we’ll have fun with this one.
• {insert random crap}
• Cool expereiments and trials, not sure exactly what this will be but I promise to limit the number of pictures of little furry animals hooked up to electrodes
• {insert random crap}
• Travel, duh
• {insert random crap}
• Photo blogging (just random pictures)
• {insert random crap}
• Predictions, because I love people who have the stones to make a prediction about something, even if I think they are stupid

and of course, lots of other random crap.

Rather than trying to hard to make this something specific or a particular type of blog, it’s just going to reflect what the voices in my head are telling me, and they talk… a lot.

While I have my share of goals for the new year and expect most of you do too, there were a few other things that didn’t quite seem to qualify as goals but were things I wanted to do better at starting now. Small habits can have a big impact.

1. Say Thank You: While I say “thank you” in the normal courteous manner that everyone else does I’ll admit I’ve been lazy about saying thank you by way of thank you cards for birthday gifts, or for someone having me over to their home for a party or for simply taking the time to do something nice. It’s a small step but a simple thank you when it is least expected can have a lasting impact on how people perceive you, especially when it requires a little more effort than just saying it.
2. Stop Making Excuses For Not Being Kind To Myself: Let’s face it, we’re all our own hardest critic and all to often work or other obligations become excuses for not taking care of me. Whether that’s taking the time out for a run, a beer with a buddy or a little extra sleep when I need it. I know from experience that taking care of me enables me to take better care of my clients (and everyone else in my life). Stop the excuses, take care of you.
3. Smile & Look People In The Eye: It’s just to easy to order your drink or dinner while looking at the menu, pass a neighbor or co-worker or just walk past someone on a sidewalk and not bother to smile or look them straight in the eye. There are a dozen psychological reasons why we avoide looking people in the eye but I’m going to make an effort to ensure I do. Just because I smile at you doesn’t mean they I’m hitting on you, and we know smiling actually tends to relax other people. Looking them in the eye is just a sign of respect and gets us (read: me) out of a semi-submissive role. It might feel weird at first but once you do it a couple of times it becomes quite natural, and charismatic.
4. Eat Slowly: This accomplishes two things. You get to enjoy your food and the company you are in a little longer and it will help you to eat less, something the vast majority of us could do. It also makes a meal just generally more enjoyable.
5. Have Dinner & Drinks With A Friend or Family Member Once a Week: Sometimes it’s hard to squeeze it in but find a way, it’s the people in our lives that make the most difference in the end, not the stuff. On average most Americans have 1.5 “good” friends. I think that is for no other reason than that we don’t make time for each other. So just do it.
6. Give Away Some Meaningful Knowledge: Many of us in this day and age get paid for what we know, not what we can do. Sometimes it’s a fine line between protecting your intellectual property and sharing your knowledge. Knowing how and when to teach someone something without expecting anything in return not only endears you to readers, fans and prospective clients, it helps you to build trust and establish authority. Share often, and share things of value, not fluff.
7. Be Kind To Your Nose: It might sound strange but let it sink in… A smell can take you back to your childhood, or a particular place. Smell is 90% of taste, it can relax you. This year pay more attention to smells.

There you have it. Nothing revolutionary but then it wasn’t meant to be. 7 simple things to try to remember to do through out the year and it might just turn out a little better, even if in some small way.

I love the TED talks and while I’ve never been a follower of Tony’s I’ve always respected the guy. This video is really good and his message is, while not new, more well articulated than I’ve heard elsewhere.